Palestinian, 23, shot dead during Hebron-area clashes

Palestinians clash with Israeli forces in Hebron in October 2015. (AFP/Hazem Bader, File)

HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man Friday during clashes in the town of Halhul north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

Hassan Jihad al-Baw, 23, died after being shot in the heart, doctors at Hebron’s al-Ahli Hospital told Ma’an.

Medical sources confirmed that al-Baw was dead upon arrival at the hospital after a bullet passed through his heart, killing him immediately.

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the death but was unable to provide immediate details on the incident.

The 23-year-old was killed shortly after two Israeli settlers were shot dead in their vehicle south of Hebron. A search is currently under way for the suspect, who fled the scene.

Al-Baw was the second Palestinian to die on Friday. Earlier in the day, Issa al-Shalaldah, 22, succumbed to his injuries in the al-Ahli hospital a day after being shot by Israeli forces.

The Ministry of Health told Ma'an that Issa was shot Thursday during clashes that broke out in the village of Sair following the funeral of Abdullah Shalaldah, 28.

Abdullah was killed Thursday morning by undercover Israeli forces while visiting his cousin, 20-year-old Azzam Azmi Shalaldah, who was a patient at the hospital.

Amnesty International condemned Abdullah's death as an extrajudicial execution and said it was the “latest in a pattern of killings by Israeli forces which Amnesty International considers to have been unlawful.”

The increase in violence that initially escalated in October between Israeli military forces, settlers and Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory has continued on into this month.

Eighty-two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of October, and 12 Israelis have been killed in individual Palestinian attacks during the same time period.

The town of Halhul where al-Baw was killed has been site to heightened tensions over the past two weeks.

Last week Tharwat al-Sharawi, 72, was shot dead after Israeli forces said she attempted to run over soldiers in a Halhul gas station.

Days after, an Israeli border policeman died from injuries sustained after being hit by a car at the Halhul junction on Nov. 4. The Palestinian driver, Ibrahim Skafi, 22, was shot dead at the scene of the attack.

In all civilized societies the people go out and protest against their government for the ills of the society. Palestinians have no leadership. Palestinians have government instigators pocketing all the cash.